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She died in California where she had been living for a few months with her son.
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{{short description|American beauty pageant contestant and activist}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Venus Ramey
|name = Venus Ramey
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|birth_name =
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{birth date|1924|9|26}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1924|9|26}}
|birth_place = [[Ashland, Kentucky]]
|birth_place = [[Somerset, Kentucky]], US
|death_date = {{death date and age|2017|6|17|1924|9|26}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|2017|6|17|1924|9|26}}
|death_place = [[California]
|death_place = [[Agoura Hills, California]], US
|occupation = [[tobacco farming|Tobacco farmer]], activist
|occupation = [[tobacco farming|Tobacco farmer]], activist
|title = [[Miss America 1944]]
|title = [[Miss America 1944]]
Line 15: Line 16:
|successor = [[Bess Myerson]]
|successor = [[Bess Myerson]]
|party =
|party =
|spouse =
|spouse = {{marriage|Joseph H. Murphy, Jr.|1948}}
|children = 2 sons}}
|children = 2
}}


'''Venus Ramey Murphy''' (September 26, 1924 – June 17, 2017) was an American beauty pageant contestant, and later an activist. She won the [[Miss America]] competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1944.
'''Venus Ramey Murphy''' (September 26, 1924 – June 17, 2017) was an American beauty pageant contestant, and later an activist. She won the [[Miss America]] competition in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], on September 9, 1944.


==Early life==
⚫
Born in [[Ashland, Kentucky]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnsoncountykyhistory.com/people/RS.html|title=Johnson County History... and That's a Fact |accessdate=2007-04-20}}</ref>, she left Kentucky to work for the war effort in [[Washington, DC]], and won the [[Miss District of Columbia]] pageant and then became [[Miss America]] in 1944. She was the first red-haired contestant to win the title.<ref name=missamerica>{{cite web|url=http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1940/1944.aspx|title=Miss America History 1944|accessdate=2006-12-30|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923040646/http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1940/1944.aspx|archivedate=2006-09-23}}</ref>
Ramey was born in [[Somerset, Kentucky]], to Evalena (née Brown; 1889–1967) and John Coons Ramey (1887–1970).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnsoncountykyhistory.com/people/RS.html|title=Johnson County History... and That's a Fact |access-date=2007-04-20}}</ref> She later left Kentucky to work for the war effort in [[Washington, DC]]. Through her [[patriline]], Ramey was distantly related to Country musicians [[Loretta Lynn]], [[Crystal Gayle]], [[Jay Lee Webb]], [[Peggy Sue (singer)|Peggy Sue]] and [[Patty Loveless]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}


==Campaigner==
==Pageants==
⚫
She then won the [[Miss District of Columbia]] pageant and then became [[Miss America]] in 1944. She was the first Miss America to be photographed in color and also the first red-haired contestant to win the national title.<ref name=missamerica>{{cite web|url=http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1940/1944.aspx|title=Miss America History 1944|access-date=2006-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923040646/http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1940/1944.aspx|archive-date=2006-09-23}}</ref>
Ramey became the first Miss America to successfully run for public office, seeking a seat in the [[Kentucky House of Representatives]].<ref name=missamerica/>


==Career==
She was wooed by [[Hollywood]] in 1947, but dissatisfied with show business, she returned home to her [[Eubank, Kentucky]], tobacco farm (which she maintained for over 50 years) in [[Lincoln County, Kentucky]]. She married and raised two sons who survive her.<ref name=missamerica/>
She was wooed by [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] in 1947, but dissatisfied with show business, she returned home to her [[Eubank, Kentucky]], tobacco farm (which she maintained for over 50 years) in [[Lincoln County, Kentucky]].


In the 1970s, Ramey successfully campaigned to save [[Over-the-Rhine]], a neighborhood in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]. The neighborhood was eventually listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], and her work led her to make an unsuccessful bid for a spot on the [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati City Council]].<ref name=missamerica/>
Ramey became the first Miss America to run for public office, seeking a seat in the [[Kentucky House of Representatives]].<ref name=missamerica/> In the 1970s, Ramey successfully campaigned to save [[Over-the-Rhine]], a neighborhood in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]. The neighborhood was eventually listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], and her work led her to make an unsuccessful bid for a spot on the [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati City Council]].<ref name=missamerica/>


She was a tobacco farmer who, in 1999, unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit against the federal government for $300 billion for its anti-tobacco policies.<ref name="People people"/> She also was a write-in candidate for the 2000 presidential election.<ref name="People people"/>
⚫
In April 2007, at age 82, Ramey confronted intruders who had entered a storage building on her farm where thieves had previously stolen equipment. She used a snub-nose .38 [[revolver]] to shoot out the tires on their pickup truck, then flagged down a car and had the driver call 911, holding the would-be thieves until the sheriff arrived. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it", she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be six feet under by now."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18237342/print/1/displaymode/1098|title=Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder|date=April 20, 2007|accessdate=2007-07-03}}</ref>


⚫
In April 2007, at age 82, Ramey confronted intruders who had entered a storage building on her Waynesburg, Kentucky farm where thieves had previously stolen equipment. She used a snub-nose .38 [[revolver]] to shoot out the tires on their pickup truck, then flagged down a car and had the driver call 911, holding the would-be thieves at gun-point until the sheriff arrived. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it", she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be six feet under by now."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18237342|title=Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder|date=April 20, 2007|access-date=2007-07-03}}</ref>
⚫
==Tributes and death==
⚫
In 1944, a [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]] of the 15th Air Force, 301st bomb group was named the Venus Ramey. This plane is reputed to be one of the longest-lived B-17s of the [[World War II|war]], having flown over 150 missions and survived the war. It was later scrapped.<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genbel/decnews09/venusramey.htm Excerpt from ''National Review''], freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com, May 14, 2007.</ref>


⚫
==Tributes==
There was also a [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] bomber (42-52312) in the 454th bomb group named MISS AMERICA '44 which flew 133 missions.<ref>B-24 Best Web http://www.b24bestweb.com/Pics-M-MISS_AA-MISS_AZ.htm</ref>
⚫
In 1944, a [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]] of the 15th Air Force, 301st bomb group was named the "Venus Ramey." This plane is reputed to be one of the longest-lived B-17s of the [[World War II|war]], having flown over 150 missions and survived the war. It was later scrapped.<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genbel/decnews09/venusramey.htm Excerpt from ''National Review''], freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com, May 14, 2007.</ref> There was also a [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] bomber (42-52312) in the 454th bomb group named "MISS AMERICA '44" which flew 133 missions.<ref>B-24 Best Web http://www.b24bestweb.com/Pics-M-MISS_AA-MISS_AZ.htm</ref>


==Personal life==
⚫
Ramey died in a Kentucky nursing home on June 17, 2017 at the age of 92.<ref>[https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/?action=obituaries.obit_view&CFID=80e7b10c-f431-4789-93d9-3c6d02b304ce&CFTOKEN=0&o_id=4264868&fh_id=10640 Venus Ramey | 1924 - 2017 | Obituary]</ref>
She married Joseph Henry Murphy Jr. in 1948; the couple later divorced.<ref name="People people">{{cite web|first1=Michelle |last1=Tauber |first2=Mike |last2=Neill |first3=Lisa |last3=Russell |first4=Joanne|last4=Fowler |first5=Julie |last5=Dam |first6=Alex |last6=Tresniowski |first7=Samantha |last7=Miller |first8=Steve |last8=Dougherty |first9=Ting |last9=Yu |title= American Beauties: 80 Years |work= People |url=https://people.com/archive/american-beauties-80-years-vol-54-no-16/ |date=October 16, 2000}}</ref> Ramey raised two sons, Joseph Henry "Hank" Murphy III and Martin Wallace "Wally" Murphy, who survive her.<ref name=missamerica/>

⚫
Ramey died in an [[Agoura Hills, California]], hospice on June 17, 2017, at the age of 92. Her funeral was held at a Science Hill, Kentucky, funeral home on July 2, 2017, followed by burial at the Eubank Cemetery in Pulaski County, Kentucky.<ref>[https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/?action=obituaries.obit_view&CFID=80e7b10c-f431-4789-93d9-3c6d02b304ce&CFTOKEN=0&o_id=4264868&fh_id=10640 Venus Ramey | 1924 - 2017 | Obituary]</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{MissAmericas 1940–1959}}
{{MissAmericas 1940–1959}}
{{District of Columbia pageant winners}}
{{District of Columbia pageant winners}}
{{Miss America}}
{{Authority control}}



{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramey, Venus}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramey, Venus}}
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[[Category:People from Ashland, Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from Ashland, Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from Lincoln County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from Lincoln County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Women in agriculture]]

[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
{{US-activist-stub}}
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
{{US-pageant-bio-stub}}
[[Category:American women farmers]]
{{Kentucky-stub}}

Latest revision as of 03:10, 21 January 2024

Venus Ramey
Venus Ramey in 2007
Born(1924-09-26)September 26, 1924
Somerset, Kentucky, US
DiedJune 17, 2017(2017-06-17) (aged 92)
Agoura Hills, California, US
Occupation(s)Tobacco farmer, activist
TitleMiss America 1944
PredecessorJean Bartel
SuccessorBess Myerson
Spouse(s)
Joseph H. Murphy, Jr.
​
​
(m. 1948)​
Children2

Venus Ramey Murphy (September 26, 1924 – June 17, 2017) was an American beauty pageant contestant, and later an activist. She won the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 9, 1944.

Early life[edit]

Ramey was born in Somerset, Kentucky, to Evalena (née Brown; 1889–1967) and John Coons Ramey (1887–1970).[1] She later left Kentucky to work for the war effort in Washington, DC. Through her patriline, Ramey was distantly related to Country musicians Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Jay Lee Webb, Peggy Sue and Patty Loveless.[citation needed]

Pageants[edit]

She then won the Miss District of Columbia pageant and then became Miss America in 1944. She was the first Miss America to be photographed in color and also the first red-haired contestant to win the national title.[2]

Career[edit]

She was wooed by Hollywood in 1947, but dissatisfied with show business, she returned home to her Eubank, Kentucky, tobacco farm (which she maintained for over 50 years) in Lincoln County, Kentucky.

Ramey became the first Miss America to run for public office, seeking a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives.[2] In the 1970s, Ramey successfully campaigned to save Over-the-Rhine, a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. The neighborhood was eventually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and her work led her to make an unsuccessful bid for a spot on the Cincinnati City Council.[2]

She was a tobacco farmer who, in 1999, unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit against the federal government for $300 billion for its anti-tobacco policies.[3] She also was a write-in candidate for the 2000 presidential election.[3]

In April 2007, at age 82, Ramey confronted intruders who had entered a storage building on her Waynesburg, Kentucky farm where thieves had previously stolen equipment. She used a snub-nose .38 revolver to shoot out the tires on their pickup truck, then flagged down a car and had the driver call 911, holding the would-be thieves at gun-point until the sheriff arrived. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it", she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be six feet under by now."[4]

Tributes[edit]

In 1944, a B-17 of the 15th Air Force, 301st bomb group was named the "Venus Ramey." This plane is reputed to be one of the longest-lived B-17s of the war, having flown over 150 missions and survived the war. It was later scrapped.[5] There was also a B-24 Liberator bomber (42-52312) in the 454th bomb group named "MISS AMERICA '44" which flew 133 missions.[6]

Personal life[edit]

She married Joseph Henry Murphy Jr. in 1948; the couple later divorced.[3] Ramey raised two sons, Joseph Henry "Hank" Murphy III and Martin Wallace "Wally" Murphy, who survive her.[2]

Ramey died in an Agoura Hills, California, hospice on June 17, 2017, at the age of 92. Her funeral was held at a Science Hill, Kentucky, funeral home on July 2, 2017, followed by burial at the Eubank Cemetery in Pulaski County, Kentucky.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Johnson County History... and That's a Fact". Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  2. ^ a b c d "Miss America History 1944". Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  3. ^ a b c Tauber, Michelle; Neill, Mike; Russell, Lisa; Fowler, Joanne; Dam, Julie; Tresniowski, Alex; Miller, Samantha; Dougherty, Steve; Yu, Ting (October 16, 2000). "American Beauties: 80 Years". People.
  4. ^ "Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder". April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  5. ^ Excerpt from National Review, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com, May 14, 2007.
  6. ^ B-24 Best Web http://www.b24bestweb.com/Pics-M-MISS_AA-MISS_AZ.htm
  7. ^ Venus Ramey | 1924 - 2017 | Obituary
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss America
1944 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Dixie Lou Rafter
 Miss Washington, D.C.
1944 		Succeeded by
Dorothy Powell
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Venus_Ramey&oldid=1197577829"